The Dance Studio of Union Parish
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What's Going on NOW!
Registration for our regular season begins August 1 and classes begin in September 6th
About The Dance Studio of Union Parish
The Dance Studio of Union Parish is owned and operated by Farmerville resident Angela Cusimano Russell and has been in operation in Farmerville since 2005. We are a recreational studio providing dance and acro classes to all ages of all skill levels in the fields of ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and tumble. We are also proud to offer all of our students a chance to attend competitions, conventions, and intensive workshops with organizations such as Dance Teachers United, Southern Association of Dance Masters, The Streetz Dance Convention, NYLA, and Twin City Ballet Company. Ms Angie accepted the "Studio of Excellence" award in 2018 and was awarded the "Dance Teacher of the Year" recognition for 2021 from the Dance Teachers United organization. Over the years we've been awarded placements in top 10, 5, and winning first place overall awards, choreography awards, and several special judges recognition awards along with the the privilege to have encore performances of winning or judges favorite pieces for solos, duets, trios, groups, and production pieces. Our students have often performed at local festivals for entertainment. Our favorite performances include the yearly performances at the local nursing homes, the annual Watermelon Festival Pageant, in 2018 our Level 5 girls performed at the Miss Tech Pageant, and then in the summer of 2019, our Ms Carsyn performed beautifully on the Miss Louisiana Pageant stage with her TCB family. We are proud to say several of our dancers have been performing members with the Twin City Ballet Company and we often invite our students to attend their summer intensive workshop. Our primary goal is to provide a high quality of dance and tumble instruction while nurturing students grace, creativity, individuality, strength, and social skills as well as giving everyone a safe place to belong without fear of rejection. #DSUPFam
Our Team
Ms Angie
Ms Starla
Starla Gatson began studying dance at the age of 7, though according to her parents, Joe and the late Cassandra Gatson, she was dancing long before then. Her training began with Angela Cusimano Russell at the Dance Studio of Union Parish in 2005, and is proud to say she has been a part of the #DSUPFam ever since. After several years of assisting classes at the studio, she joined the staff as an instructor in 2013, following her certification in ballet, tap, jazz, and acrobatics instruction by the Southern Association of Dance Masters.
Starla was a member of the award-winning DSUP teen/senior competition teams from 2011-2019 and performed in trios, small groups, and as a soloist. Though she no longer competes, she is still heavily involved with the DSUP competition team and has choreographed award-winning numbers. She has attended numerous dance competitions and conventions, training under established dancers and choreographers at organizations including The Streetz Dance, NYLA Dance, Southern Association of Dance Masters, and Dance Teachers United. She was also a performing member of the Twin City Ballet Company from 2012-2019, finishing her tenure with the company as an Artist-in-Residence. Each year, she participated in the company’s annual Christmas gala, Ballet Under the Stars, and also performed with the company in the Regional Dance America Southwest festivals in 2018 and 2019.
Starla graduated from Louisiana Tech University in November 2018 with a B.A. in Communication Studies and Journalism, and on the rare occasion that she is not dancing or thinking about dancing, Starla works as a freelance writer, having had her work published in BayouLife Magazine, Ruston Daily Leader, and Darling Magazine Online.
Ms Carsyn
Carsyn Brasher is the daughter of Carol and Billy Brasher of Farmerville, LA. She started dance lessons in 2005 at age 3 and has been with Ms. Angie and DSUP since 2009. Carsyn has been part of DSUP’s award-winning competition teams for the better part of a decade, and she has earned numerous accolades as a soloist, duet partner, and small group member. She has been a teacher’s assistant for several years for ages 2 and up in every class DSUP offers, and in 2019, after testing with the Southern Association of Dance Masters, she became a Certified Student Teacher in ballet, tap, jazz, and acrobatics. As of July 2021, she is officially a full member and certified instructor, and following DSUP's return to the competition circuit the same year, an award-winning choreographer.
In addition to dancing with DSUP, Carsyn was a member of the Twin City Ballet Company since 2012 and performed with the company until her final performance as an Artist in Residence in 2021. Each year, she has played roles in the company’s annual Christmas gala and Ballet Under the Stars performances and performed with the company at the Regional Dance America Southwest festivals in 2018 and 2019. In 2020 she starred as the lead Grump for the Christmas ballet. Carsyn has also studied under world famous instructors through organizations such as Twin City Ballet, Southern Association of Dance Masters, Dance Teachers United, The Streetz, and NYLA Dance.
Carsyn is a 2020 graduate of Union Christian Academy, where she was one of two captains of the varsity cheer squad during the 2018-19 academic year and provided much of the group’s performance choreography. Carsyn excelled on and off the dance floor during her high school years, maintaining a 4.0 GPA as well as being an active member of the National Honors Society and 4H Club.
She currently attends the University of Louisiana Monroe and majors in math. Ms Carsyn was a member of the ULM Hawkline for the 2021-22 season and is currently a member of the 2022-2023 ULM Hawkline dance team.
Ms Elise
